About INCA

INCA was established in 1989 as a company limited by guarantee; not for profit. It began life trying to ensure nature conservation was adequately addressed in economic development projects and encouraging the use of industrial land for nature conservation projects. The aim was to balance the needs of conservation and development, which we refer to now as sustainability and there are many excellent examples of INCA's contribution to successful development and better nature conservation. A key part of this success has been the willingness of INCA members to promote their interests in a confidential membership forum to reach consensus and achieve the development - conservation balance. The membership comprises individual businesses, conservation organisations, local authorities and environmental regulators with the majority of INCA's funding coming from membership subscriptions.

INCA's services have grown as the environment has become more regulated and INCA has become an established part of the soft infrastructure of the Tees Valley. The INCA Board has reviewed the strategy, revised the statement of purpose and set down its critical success factors for the future. The INCA model could be successful for many other parts of the UK, but so far the only other INCA is on Humberside (www.humberinca.co.uk).

INCA Strategy

Purpose

To balance the needs of economic development and the natural environment through a range of services that are credible confidential and balanced and draw upon the diverse interests of the membership.

Services

i) Support through the planning process with ecological advice, site survey, and advice on the potential ecological barriers to development.

ii) Support in obtaining consents in day to day operations for work that may impact on protected sites or species.

iii) Ecology and ecotoxicology assessments in the COMAH and IPPC processes, including the evaluation of emission and discharge modelling results.

iv) Confidential problem solving on the natural environment either direct or through facilitation.

v) Ecological developments on industrial land either through a structured biodiversity planning process or as one off initiatives to increase the business contribution to biodiversity.

vi) General clearing house for the membership to learn from each other, share knowledge, share experiences, and communicate across the sectors.

vii) Coordination of plans for protection of the environment e.g. Tees Estuary Management Plan, The Oil Spill Contingency Plan and the Scheme of Management for the European Marine Site.

viii) Coordinating funding partnerships for projects on the natural environment.

ix) Production of publicity material to promote the achievements of members on the natural environment.

Critical Success Factors

1. The diversity of the membership.

We have a membership that spans business, ecological interests, the regulators and the local planning authorities. These diverse interests can be brought together in a constructive confidential forum to address issues involving the natural environment and development. It is a valuable and uncommon facility that brings significant benefit to all parties.

2. Securing and developing INCA's knowledge base.

We have a large database of ecological records, access to sources of data within the membership and experience of interpreting the data to help all sectors of the membership achieve their aims. It forms the basis for many elements of our service and it is essential we keep it up to date and secure.

3. The skills and expertise of the INCA team.

We have many years of experience and a skill set that comes from ecology, industry, planning and regulation. We have a record of success in applying those skills and it is essential we maintain the diversity and depth of skills to support our members.

4. Helping to create a better environment.

We promote understanding across the membership to encourage partnership to achieve a better environment, which sometimes involves challenging sectional interests. It does balance the commercial value of our work, it helps reflect the environmental interests within the membership and it contributes to our knowledge base.

5. Providing a service responsive to the needs of the membership.

We aim to provide an immediate response to our members that is relevant to their needs. In a changing business and regulatory environment our failure to do so will reduce our value to the membership.

6. The maintenance of our core values.

Our core values were established in large part at the point of incorporation and have applied over the life of INCA. They are:

i. Independence.

ii. Confidentiality

iii. Honesty

iv. Integrity

v. Creativity

vi. Challenge

They have helped to build our reputation as a competent organization with a balanced approach. We will undermine our reputation if we fail to live up to them.